Portugal have moved to the top of League A Group 2 in the UEFA Nations League courtesy of a thumping 4-0 win over Czech Republic at the Fortuna Arena in Prague this evening.
The result was largely made in Manchester as Manchester United players had a direct hand in all four goals, including an unlikely brace for Diogo Dalot as he registered his first international goals.
Those came either side of a Bruno Fernandes strike as Portugal took complete control of the contest inside an hour, and Liverpool's Diogo Jota capped off the rout when he nodded home Cristiano Ronaldo's knockdown in the box late on.
Ronaldo himself was bloodied and bruised during his 190th appearance for his country, but for once it was his compatriots and Old Trafford teammates who stole the spotlight on a night which also saw him give away a penalty which Czech Republic missed.
Including Bernardo Silva and Ruben Dias there were five Manchester-based players in the starting lineup for Fernando Santos's side, and Dalot was the least likely of those to break the deadlock having never previously scored for his country.
However, he turned home Rafael Leao's cutback shortly after the half-hour mark to set Portugal on their way, and from there they never looked back.
Bruno Fernandes doubled their advantage right on the stroke of half time when his run from deep was not tracked by defenders, leaving him with a relatively simple finish from Mario Rui's cross.
Patrik Schick was gifted the perfect chance to get the hosts back into the match moments later when, after a lengthy review, VAR ruled that Ronaldo had handled the ball inside the area.
However, the Czech Republic striker hit the crossbar with his spot kick, ensuring that Portugal's two-goal advantage survived going into half time.
Dalot's second was the pick of the goals as he made the most of being gifted space 25 yards from goal, curling a precise left-footed finish into the bottom corner seven minutes after the restart.
Jota then added a fourth for Santos's men, steering a simple header in from close range after Ronaldo had glanced a corner across the face of goal.
The result sees Portugal return to winning ways following their June defeat to Switzerland, and coupled with Spain being beaten at home by Switzerland this evening it moves them two points clear at the top of their Nations League group.
Ronaldo and co must now simply avoid defeat against their Iberian neighbours when they meet in Braga on Tuesday to book their place in the Nations League semi-finals and continue their quest to become the first two-time winners of the competition.
Czech Republic, by contrast, slump to the bottom of the group and must now beat Switzerland in St Gallen next week to avoid relegation to League B. body check tags ::
